


Rules of a Riddle

by elysea



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Heartslabyul, Reader-Insert, Romance, set sometime after episode 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:15:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24887455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elysea/pseuds/elysea
Summary: For Riddle Rosehearts, there is a rule for everything.For falling in love, his rule is simple:Don't.But he does anyway.
Relationships: Riddle Rosehearts/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 146





	Rules of a Riddle

Riddle sometimes thought he was too lenient.

Too light on his punishments.

Too willing to let things go.

Rules were made to be obeyed. Rules were order.

Breaking even one demanded punishment.

Sealed magic. Written apologies. Weeding the garden.

As Heartslabyul’s Dorm Leader, Riddle had to be someone who upheld the Laws of the Queen of Hearts.

But, as Riddle liked to remind himself, while rules had once been everything to him, they were no longer.

He was still getting used to all the new changes: using his unique magic less, doling out fewer punishments, forgiving the underclassmen’s indiscretions.

Sometimes Riddle still felt the urge—the urge to off one’s head so they’d never again break a rule.

Riddle didn’t want to return to the way he’d been before, so committed to the rules he couldn’t see past them.

Ruling that way had only made others fear him, even resent Riddle to the point where they wanted to transfer to another dorm.

He’d wanted to be like the Queen of Hearts, severe and strong in spirit. Riddle had believed Heartslabyul was better off when all the rules were strictly enforced, but it was actually worse. Much worse.

What a disgrace he’d been.

If the Queen of Hearts had seen Riddle then, he wasn’t sure if she’d be happy with him, or want him to off his own head for how he’d been as Dorm Leader.

But despite the new changes, Riddle couldn’t live completely without rules.

He needed them. Not because he’d grown up with more rules than any child should, but because it kept him grounded. Rules were what had shaped Riddle into who he was, as well as what the dorm was.

Rules would always have a place in his life.

There were two kinds in the dorm: official dorm rules (all 810 of them) and unofficial dorm rules (132 so far).

And several personal rules for himself.

Don’t overenforce the rules. Hear out his underclassmen. Don’t add oyster sauce to any tart.

Never go into Overblot again.

_Don’t fall in love._

It was one of Riddle’s most important rules.

The reason for it was simple: Falling in love was a distraction.

Riddle didn’t want to be distracted, couldn’t afford to be, especially when he still had his duties as Dorm Leader.

Love, to his mother, had a different meaning than it did to other mothers. Riddle’s mother thought loving him meant planning every aspect of his life, down to every second and minute of every hour.

Her marriage to Riddle’s father had been one of convenience, security, and stability, not one of love.

Riddle didn’t wish to emulate his parents’ marriage, but what he’d agreed with his mother on was that love wasn’t a necessity.

He could survive without it.

Just as Riddle’s mother had prioritized other things in her life—Riddle the most —Riddle had wanted to prioritize other things in his life as well, like being a better Dorm Leader to Heartslabyul.

He’d had no intention of falling in love.

But Ace and Deuce had kept inviting you over to the dorm. There was no rule saying they couldn’t.

It was inevitable that you and Riddle would eventually meet.

Even before he’d met you face-to-face, Riddle had already heard things about you.

You were the one with that raccoon familiar, the one who didn’t have magic, the one living in that Ramshackle Dorm, where as far as Riddle knew, there were no rules whatsoever.

You’d housed Ace after Riddle had first collared him. You’d even helped make that Mont Blanc tart Riddle had thrown away at the Unbirthday Party—Riddle would always cringe remembering how he’d wasted that tart.

You were there when Riddle had gone Overblot. You’d helped Riddle get out of it.

You led a different life than he did, but compared to his own, your life was simpler. Happy.

What would the Queen of Hearts think if she knew of Riddle’s feelings? What would Trey?

What would you?

Riddle couldn’t remember when he’d broken his own rule.

***

“Riddle?… Riddle? Ri—“

_“What?”_ asked Riddle sharply before his name could be repeated for a third time.

He relaxed when he remembered it was just Trey there with him, not some underclassmen of theirs who’d just wandered into Riddle’s office.

“I was just saying how nice it’d be to bake everyone tarts tomorrow,” Trey said. “Think of it as a surprise treat since they’ve been working so hard this week.”

Riddle liked the idea. He’d never object to tarts.

“Strawberry?” Riddle suggested hopefully.

To his dismay, Trey started to laugh, filling the office with loud noise. He was lucky Riddle’s door was closed and that most of the underclassmen were either still at their classes or in their rooms.

Riddle debated whether or not to consider this a rule violation.

Laws of the Queen of Hearts, No. 612: Do not disrespect the Dorm Leader.

But Riddle didn’t reach for his magic, sitting tensely in his chair.

“Are strawberry tarts so amusing?” he asked in a flat voice.

Riddle didn’t like when anybody, let alone Trey, caught him in a moment of distraction, but it was better that Trey saw it than someone else. Cater. Ace. Deuce. You.

Trey’s laughter was dying down into an easy smile. “Sorry, Riddle, but you’re distracted today, aren’t you? I wasn’t even talking about tarts earlier, just asking how it went with the test today.”

Occasionally, Riddle liked to test the underclassmen of Heartslabyul on random rules the dorm had. It didn’t matter where they were. The cafeteria. The rose garden. In class.

Ignoring Riddle meant an instant failure.

He’d say a number, and they were expected to say the rest.

It was all unofficial, meaning no grades or punishments were ever given out, but the tests were a good way to tell who knew the rules and who didn’t.

In the past, the tests would catch the underclassmen off-guard, stuttering out what they could barely remember of the dorm’s rules, as if their lives depended on it. (Riddle had scoffed at this. Didn’t they know? It was their _heads_ , not their _lives_ on the line.)

Riddle had memorized all 810 of Heartslabyul’s rules and knew them inside and out. He’d expected his underclassmen to be the same.

But Riddle understood now that not everyone could be like him.

He was still doing the tests, but Riddle let little stumbles here and there slide. Even if an underclassman couldn’t remember the exact wording of a rule, if they knew the overall meaning and importance of it, then that was acceptable. The effort was appreciated.

Now, the tests seemed almost fun. During Riddle’s test today in the lounge, most had known what rules he’d been asking for, even knowing what order the words were in.

It’d pleased Riddle how some were proud to recite the rules to him.

He pushed back the papers he’d been failing to study on his desk, tossing his head back against his chair. Riddle’s eyes were glued to the ceiling above them. “It went well,” Riddle said. “The underclassmen, even those two—Ace and Deuce—are trying their best to learn and follow the rules.”

It was a successful test, but Riddle’s heart hadn’t been in it this time. Lately, there was only one place his heart was in. One person he could think of. It made him vulnerable. Distracted.

In much less time than Riddle would’ve thought for Heartslabyul, a dorm that’d been on the edge of collapsing over a month ago, things were going well.

No one had actually transferred to another dorm. The number of rule violations was going down by the week. Some underclassmen even greeted and waved at Riddle when they saw him in school.

It was all more than he could’ve asked for, but it was like it had the opposite effect on Riddle.

When there was nothing wrong with the dorm, there was something wrong with him. What Riddle was going to do about you, he didn’t know.

Trey, always the perceptive one around Riddle, noticed his unusual quietness. Sometimes Riddle didn’t like how well his Vice Dorm Leader could read him.

“How about it, then?” Trey asked.

“How about what?” Riddle hoped he hadn’t just missed another thing Trey said. Riddle also hoped he wouldn’t be like this in front of the underclassmen next time he spoke to them.

“The strawberry tarts?” Trey smiled. “I’m sure everyone would appreciate it.”

Riddle smiled wryly as he stood up.

“You don’t need my answer for that.”

***

Strawberry tarts were one of only two distractions Riddle always welcomed, with the other being…

Riddle didn’t finish that thought.

Silver cutlery and several trays of tarts lined the white-clothed table. The roses of the tea garden were unpainted but in full bloom. Flamingos and hedgehogs were being well taken care of for the afternoon’s croquet match.

At teatime, the tarts would pair well with the tea Riddle had brewed, since Trey himself had made the tarts.

Riddle hated to admit it, but Trey was better at making them than Riddle was.

Ace and Deuce were one of the first to arrive, and Riddle wasn’t surprised you and the raccoon were right behind them.

“We’re having tarts today? Awesome!” said Ace, scooping up a tart off the tray Trey had set on the table not even five minutes ago.

Deuce, like Ace, was eager to take one for himself as well.

But you went straight to Riddle, taking a seat next to him, as you always did at the table.

“Strawberry tarts, huh? I guess that means today’s gonna be a good day,” you said, almost teasingly.

_It already was_ , Riddle thought.

“Trey wanted to bake them for everyone as a treat,” Riddle said.

“How sweet of him.” You smiled at Riddle, knowing how much he enjoyed eating Trey’s tarts.

Riddle cleared his throat, trying not to stare too much at you. He really needed to pull himself together if he was going to last the week.

Your eyes landed on the tray of tarts, but you didn’t reach for one, keeping your hands at your sides.

Riddle could see your hesitation. He wondered if you were thinking only members of Heartslabyul could have one.

But you were just as much a member here as anyone was. If not officially, then just because you were at the dorm on most days, and no one had a problem with it.

Least of all Riddle.

He nudged the tray closer to you. “Take one. Trey baked enough that there’ll be some leftovers.”

Your face deflated in relief, and you thanked Riddle just before biting into a tart. “These are so good! How does Trey always do it?” you mused aloud.

More underclassmen were arriving to the table.

Cater was keeping Ace and Deuce entertained, talking animatedly about something that made both Ace and Deuce widen their eyes.

It was just you and Riddle sitting at this end.

He didn’t care so much about the strawberry tart on his plate, that first piece of a whole tart Riddle always looked forward to. He could eat it later.

You were too busy biting again into the tart to notice, two seats down from you, that Trey had turned around, having heard his name being mentioned.

He didn’t say anything, only smiled at Riddle as they both made eye contact.

Trey nodded at Riddle. A show of support.

Of course, Trey had known all along about Riddle’s feelings, about Riddle breaking the one rule he thought he never could.

Riddle looked away, glad you hadn’t seen Trey.

The only thing left … was to tell you.

And soon, Riddle would.

**Author's Note:**

> no. 612 actually doesn’t exist as a rule, but i'm choosing to believe in those 810 rules there's one somewhere about disrespecting the dorm leader.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
